Document Detail


Forget the blood, not the stone! Microhaematuria in acute urolithiasis and the role of early CT scanning.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  18843059     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
BACKGROUND: Although urinalysis is simple and inexpensive to perform, the finding of microhaematuria on urinalysis may be unreliable for diagnosing urolithiasis. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate microhaematuria as a diagnostic marker for urolithiasis compared with low-dose unenhanced multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) as the "gold standard". SETTING: A level 1 emergency department in a tertiary referral university teaching hospital. DESIGN: Retrospective analysis. METHODS: A study was undertaken to assess whether the finding of microhaematuria was diagnostic for urolithiasis using a low-dose unenhanced MDCT-based diagnosis as the reference standard by reviewing the records of all patients who presented to the emergency department with colicky flank pain and underwent a CT scan between January 2003 and December 2005. RESULTS: Urolithiasis was present (as defined by low-dose unenhanced MDCT) in 507/638 patients (79%); 341/638 (53%) were true positive for urolithiasis, 76 (12%) were true negative, 55 (9%) were false positive and 166 (26%) were false negative. Microhaematuria as a test for urolithiasis in patients presenting to the emergency department therefore has a sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of 67%, 58%, 86% and 31%, respectively. 58% of the urinalysis results were negative for haematuria in the subset of patients with significant alternative diagnoses. CONCLUSIONS: The sensitivity, specificity and negative predictive value of microhaematuria on urinalysis for urolithiasis using unenhanced MDCT as the reference standard were low. This suggests that, when urolithiasis is clinically suspected, unenhanced MDCT is indicated without urinalysis being a prerequisite.
Authors:
K Xafis; G Thalmann; L M Benneker; C Stoupis; D J Buggy; H Zimmermann; A K Exadaktylos
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Publication Detail:
Type:  Comparative Study; Evaluation Studies; Journal Article    
Journal Detail:
Title:  Emergency medicine journal : EMJ     Volume:  25     ISSN:  1472-0213     ISO Abbreviation:  Emerg Med J     Publication Date:  2008 Oct 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2008-10-09     Completed Date:  2009-02-03     Revised Date:  -    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  100963089     Medline TA:  Emerg Med J     Country:  England    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  640-4     Citation Subset:  IM    
Affiliation:
Department of Emergency Medicine, University Hospital of Berne, Berne 3010, Switzerland.
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Adolescent
Adult
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Early Diagnosis
Emergency Service, Hospital
False Negative Reactions
False Positive Reactions
Hematuria / etiology*
Humans
Middle Aged
Predictive Value of Tests
Retrospective Studies
Sensitivity and Specificity
Tomography, X-Ray Computed / methods*
Urinalysis / standards*
Urolithiasis / complications,  diagnosis*
Young Adult

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


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